


not a bad face to wake up to

by lukrezius



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Asexual Jughead Jones, Bisexual Archie Andrews, Bisexual Male Character, Drunken Confessions, Drunken Kissing, Drunken Shenanigans, F/F, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, Grinding, M/M, Matchmaking, Nightmares, Sharing Clothes, Spin the Bottle, archie has nightmares, demisexual maybe??? to be explored, my first riverdale fic please like me, wow this is the longer than any of my history essays
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-15
Updated: 2017-04-15
Packaged: 2018-10-19 05:03:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10632792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lukrezius/pseuds/lukrezius
Summary: “Archie Andrews, as in, football scholarship Archie Andrews? Archie Andrews, as in, buff as hell and probably won't want to share a room with me for three days Archie Andrews?” Jughead was aware he sounded hysterical.or'my roommates girlfriend is staying over so can I please sleep on your floor?'





	

“You're- you're what?” Jughead exclaimed, dark curls freeing themselves from his beanie with his wild movements. 

“I'm having Veronica over for the long weekend. We’ve been dating for almost two months now, and that's like, a year in college time. We want to spend some time together.” Betty said, her smile pacifying. 

“God, stop. Unlike literally every other dude at college, I, for one, do not want to hear about what you two ladies get up to.”

Betty laughed, and swung her feet back and forth at the breakfast bar. “It's not going to be like that, Jug. Well, maybe a little bit. But I want it to be romantic. I'll get some movies, we’ll go out to dinner. That kind of stuff.”

“Sounds perfect,” Jughead said in a monotone, earning a fond eye-roll from Betty. “What the hell am I supposed to do, crouch in my room for three days like a gremlin?”

“That's what I wanted to talk to you about.” Betty smiled. Uh oh. Jughead thought. That was her plotting voice. “So I was thinking, maybe you'd like to get out of the apartment for a bit?”

“Uh, Betty, and go where? I can't exactly afford a hotel.” Jughead sighed, glancing out of their window.

“Yeah, I've thought of everything, listen.” That didn't sound comforting. Betty’s ideas were usually meddlesome but fairly harmless. “I've got this friend, right, my best friend, maybe, you know Archie Andrews, right?” She was rushing her words, trying to not give him time to oppose her.

“Uh-”

“So anyway, his roommate is out of town for the weekend, and I was thinking-”

Jughead caught on to her idea.

“Archie Andrews, as in, football scholarship Archie Andrews? Archie Andrews, as in, buff as hell and probably won't want to share a room with me for three days Archie Andrews?” Jughead was aware he sounded hysterical. 

Betty had slid down to her feet, and was now reaching out a hand to placate him. “Archie’s actually really nice, Jughead. You should get to know him, maybe we could all hang out sometime.”

“I thought we didn't like redheads.” Jughead muttered pettily. 

“Oh, come on, he's nothing like the Blossoms.”

Jughead sighed, and rested his chin on the table, acutely aware it would make him an ass if he didn't agree to give Betty and her girlfriend some alone time. “Alright. I guess I should pack my stuff up now then.”

And, kids, Jughead thought, that's how I found myself sitting outside Archie Andrew’s college dorm door on a Friday afternoon. Jughead had knocked several times before realising that the guy must have football practice around the same time every day. There was no point travelling all the way off campus to wait back at home, and it was raining too hard to simply wander around aimlessly, so Jughead just collapsed on the floor, back resting on the wall across from Archie’s door. His bag sat next to him, and he propped one arm on it while he closed his eyes and allowed his headphones to pass the time.

He was woken from a half-doze by the vibrations of heavy footsteps on the floorboards. He opened his eyes and knocked back his headphones with a hand. 

“Hey man,” came a surprisingly friendly voice. 

Huh. Archie looked less of a ‘bro’ in person, despite still being in half of his football gear. Maybe it was something to do with the artificial lighting, or how the rain had plastered his russet hair to his forehead and his thin t-shirt to his…

Jughead realised he was still sitting on the floor, looking up at Archie with an open mouth. He snapped it shut, and pushed himself to his feet, mumbling a greeting in return.

“You get here alright? I mean, Betty said you'd never lived on campus.”

“Yeah, it wasn't too difficult to find.”

There was a moment of silence as Archie walked past him, broken only by the rattling of the key in the door lock. 

“Well, this is it. Reggie washed his sheets this morning before he left, so.” Archie trailed off, grabbing a towel from behind the door to dry his hair.

“Nice of him.” Jughead said quietly, setting his bag down at the foot of the unoccupied bed.

“The shower’s in here,” Archie said, pushing open a door to show a small en suite bathroom, “But, uh, there are communal showers downstairs too, if it's weird to share with someone you don't know so well.” 

Jughead shrugged. “Better to share a bathroom with one person I don't know than thirty.” 

“Well, I might take a shower now, if that's alright with you.” Archie said, almost uncomfortably polite.

“Yeah, go for it, man.” ‘Man’? Jughead cringed internally. What was he turning into?

As Archie disappeared into the bathroom, Jughead grabbed his laptop out of his back, found the nearest wall socket, and booted it up. He flipped open Messenger on his phone, tapping Betty’s and his chat furiously as his phone lagged.

[Jughead Jones] to [Betty Cooper]:  
18:02 b help me  
18:04 ayudame  
18:05 this is an emerncy betty cooper 

When Betty’s phone vibrated for the third time, Veronica lifted an angled eyebrow. Betty pressed her lips together apologetically. “Sorry, it might be Jughead, do you mind if I…”

“No, go ahead.” Veronica smirked. “I can't believe you're actually trying to play matchmaker with them.”

“Hey, you make it sound like I'm sending them on blind dates. I'm just… introducing them.”

Veronica laughed. “Introducing them, and then making them live, and sleep, in close proximity for three days.”

Betty lifted a shoulder coyly. “What can I say? I'm a good friend.”

[Betty Cooper] to [Jughead Jones]:  
18:07 What's the matter???

[Jughead Jones] to [Betty Cooper]:  
18:08 we have nothing in common and he is going to die of awkwardness I can't have that on my consence  
18:08 conscience 

Veronica laughed again as Betty read Jughead’s texts out to her. “Let me guess,” Veronica said, “His messages are full of typos and have zero punctuation?”

“Yep.”

[Betty Cooper] to [Jughead Jones]:  
18:10 Just relax! He’s nice, I swear! Just pretend you have some essays to do and he won't feel pressured to talk

[Jughead Jones] to [Betty Cooper]:  
18:11 you and ronnie better be appreciating what I've given up for you guys 

[Betty Cooper] to [Jughead Jones]:  
18:13 Don't be such a diva 

The shower stopped running, and Jughead had just enough time to open a Word document and arrange some cushions behind him before the bathroom door opened. Archie emerged in a billow of steam, hair half dry and messily raked back, skin marked only by freckles and the occasional scar and droplets of water, all the way down to where his towel was wrapped around his-

Jughead slid his eyes back to his computer screen. Archie grabbed some clothes from his drawer and disappeared back into the bathroom. Jughead breathed out in relief. He wondered if there was a Wikihow on ‘how not to get the hots’ for your only friend’s best friend. Who you happened to be sharing a room with. For an entire weekend.

Jughead made his excuse about essays due, and Archie spent the evening messing around with an electric guitar, headphones plugged into the amp to keep it from making noise. Jughead opened his mouth several times, on the edge of asking Archie if he could hear what he was playing, but decided against it at the last moment.

He considered messaging Betty again, but didn't want to interrupt her date, so he did the obvious thing and stalked Archie’s Twitter. It was fairly active, mainly retweets of stuff to do with music or the college, and the ‘media’ tab turned out to be surprisingly entertaining. There were pictures, of Archie shirtless and chugging froot loops, of him knee deep in the ocean and smiling distractedly at the camera, with his friends or with his dog. There are videos too, of him singing or playing the guitar, or sometimes both at once. He had a YouTube channel too, Jughead discovered, but it was disappointingly empty aside from a few covers.

Jughead got firsthand experience of Archie’s locker room mentality later that evening; he got up, pulled his white tee over his head and dropped his sweatpants before rolling into his bed in his shorts, seemingly okay with stripping with a near stranger less than two meters away. Archie seemed comfortable in the quiet, but Jughead decided to break it anyway.

“I can turn the light off, if you'd like?” he asked, feeling as if he was throwing a line across a great, silent lake. 

Archie was lying on his back, and he turned his head to look at him. “It's fine.” he paused for a moment, thinking. “Betty talks about you a lot, you know.” he said finally, smiling faintly.

Jughead tilted his head. “All good things, I hope.” 

Archie laughed, “Yeah, mostly.”

Archie fell asleep soon after that, and Jughead must have drifted off at some point, as he woke suddenly, head resting on his chest. Jughead was disorientated for a second by the unfamiliar room, the weight of his sleeping laptop on his legs. He held his breath for a moment before he realised what he’d been woken by. Jughead pushed his laptop aside, scrambling to his feet.

Archie was breathing heavily, bare chest expanding and contracting fast in the soft moonlight as he tossed and turned in his bed. He was covered in a sheen of sweat, his hand clawed at the sheets and his head twisted from side to side as he was tormented by whatever he was dreaming of. Small cries of ‘no,’ and ‘help,’ escaped from his mouth, and Jughead hovered over him for a moment, unsure of what to do. He reached a hand out, hesitated, but Archie shifted up and his shoulder met Jughead’s fingers.

Archie stilled, and Jughead realised his eyes were open. They were both still for a moment, eyes locked. Archie struggled to control his breathing. 

“Did I wake you?” Archie asked.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Jughead said, at the same time.

Pause.

“No,” they both said in unison, which made Jughead raise his eyebrows and Archie smile, tiredly. He reached out an arm and flicked on his bedside lamp. The cool blue of the moonlight was replaced by the soft warmth of cheap artificial light on Archie’s hair. Jughead swayed slightly where he was standing, then backed up the couple steps until his bed hit the back of his knees. He sat.

“I'm a light sleeper,” Jughead admitted. 

“Reggie wasn't. I've never been woken up from it- from a nightmare before.” Archie pushed himself up, sliding to sit across his bed to face Jughead. He swallowed, staring at the floor blankly. “This summer, I- well. I'm from Riverdale.”

Oh, shit, Jughead thought. Riverdale. Of course, he should have guessed.

“It's not just Jason’s murder,” Archie admitted. “A lot of things happened this summer…” 

Jughead opened his mouth to ask, then thought better of it, reminding himself that he barely knew the guy. “I thought, them solving the murder would make the nightmares stop but, it didn't.” Archie continued. “If anything, they've got worse.”

Jughead didn't know what to say to that, but Archie seemed content to fill the silence. “Do you sleep with your hat on?” he asked, and Jughead almost smiled.

“Sometimes. Usually I just forget to take it off.”

“Why do you wear it so much?”

Jughead shrugged, tugging the item of clothing in question further down his ears. “I don't know. My mom made it for me, when I was younger, and well, she wasn't around a lot so I got kinda… attached to it.” Wow, way to sound lame as hell, Jughead thought. Archie’s chest had slowed to regular breathing from his earlier desperate gasps, but his shoulders were slumped, his eyes downcast, and Jughead knew whatever had happened in his nightmare was still preying on his mind. 

“Hey,” Jughead said softly, and Archie looked up. “You’re here now,” he continued, “You’re not in Riverdale. You’re following your dream, right? There’s nothing wrong with looking back to your past, but… but you have to remember that you have great things in your future to look forward to.” Jughead wasn’t sure when in the last fifteen minutes he became a motivational speaker, but his little spiel seemed to do the trick. 

Archie pushed himself to his feet. “C’mere.” he said, reaching a hand out for Jughead. Jughead got up, confused, and Archie grabbed him and pulled him into a hug. Archie was still sweaty and kind of gross, but Jughead hugged him back. “Thanks.” Archie said, and the vulnerability in his voice was touching. 

“It's cool.” Jughead said, and Archie patted him on the back and let him go. 

“I don’t know if I can face trying to sleep.” Archie said softly, looking back down at his bed. “I might take a run around campus or something. You want to come?”

“Uh,” Jughead said, trying to recall the last time he willingly engaged in physical activity. “You sure it’s safe to go for a run at this time of night?” Archie was pulling on tracksuit, grabbing his sneakers.

“Yeah. It’s just around campus.” Archie had made no move to put a shirt on, and was now heading towards the door. “Don’t wait up,” he said, waving. 

“Bye,” Jughead said as the door closed. Jughead stripped off his flannel and jeans, and toed off his shoes. He thought about waiting up for Archie to get back, but the warmth and softness of his bed dragged him back to sleep.

\---

The next morning, Archie woke to the sight of Jughead, struggling with a pair of black drainpipe jeans. He rolled onto his back and stretched, hitting his knuckles on the wall above his head. “It’s Saturday, Jughead, who has class on a Saturday?” 

Jughead pulled his pants up. “It’s almost twelve, Archie. And I’m not going to class, I’m going to a poetry slam.”

Archie snorted so suddenly and violently that he did a sort of convulsion, leaving Jughead looking at him with a mix of concern and defensiveness. “What?” he asked, almost hostile.

Archie stopped laughing. “Oh, you’re serious?” he moved to sit up, dropping his legs over the side. “I’m sorry, man, I didn’t mean to laugh.” Jughead shrugged, not looking at him. “Just, that’s the kind of thing my friends back at high school would rip your head off for.” 

Jughead pulled his hat down. “Yeah, I know. I went to high school, I’ve had my head ripped off by guys like you before.” His words were cold and Archie suddenly felt terrible.

“Jughead, I-” he started, apologetically.

“Save it.” Jughead interrupted, sliding his laptop into his satchel. “It’s not a big deal.” And he had a hand on the door, and Archie had never been able to stand people being mad at him, so he stumbled to his feet and padded after him, not letting himself put too much meaning on why Jughead’s eyes flicked over his bare torso so shyly.

“Jug,” he said, not sure what provoked him to make a nickname out of a nickname. “I really am sorry for laughing. I’m not, I’m not like those guys. Not anymore.” He stared at Jughead until he looked him in the eye. Jughead looked back at him, and the silence seemed to stretch to infinity.

Finally, Jughead broke out in a smile. “What?” he laughed, “We’re not going to hug, Andrews.”

Archie smiled, relieved. 

“I guess,” Jughead continued, “I would have the same reaction if you said you were going to that frat party tonight.”

Archie bit his lip and pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes. Jughead laughed, incredulously. “Of course you’re going, you’re here on football scholarship.” 

“You make me sound like a brainless jock.” Archie muttered, shuffling backwards towards his bed. “I’m multi-dimensional, Jughead, there’s more to me than just the sport,” he laughed, pulling his sheets up over his head.

\--

“Are you wearing a,” Jughead paused, “cardigan?”

Archie flushed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Yes?” Jughead unhooked his satchel from around his neck and dropped it on his bed. “What’s wrong with it?” he asked, looking down at the grey wool.

“Who the heck wears a cardigan to a frat party, Archie?” Jughead said, taking off his hat, scrubbing his hands through his hair and pulling it back on again. “A weenie, that’s who. 

“Dude, you’re literally wearing suspenders. My grandad wears those.” Jughead stepped smartly away from Archie when the other reached out to grab his suspenders. 

“Hands off.”

“What do you suggest I wear instead?” Archie asked, pulling the offending item off his shoulders. “I can’t wear my varsity jacket now that I’m in college, so…” Jughead frowned, looking through the items of clothing littered through Archie’s side of the room. “Hey, do you want to come?” Archie suggested suddenly.

Jughead glanced up. “A frat party? No thanks.”

“Why not?” Archie asked, with genuine curiosity. Most people on campus would be there.

“Not really my scene, Andrews. Try this on.” He added, shucking his own jacket and holding out to him.

“But this is-”

“Mine, yes, try it on.” Archie repeated, waving the coat at him a little. Archie took it. “We’re about the same size.” Jughead pointed out. The jacket did look good, black and simple against his dark jeans and white tee.

“That looks good.” he said, quietly, and Archie looked at him and grinned. 

“Are you sure I can wear it?” he asked.

“Sure, so long as you don't lose it.” Jughead warned. That jacket hadn't been cheap and it was one of his favourites. “You should go soon.”

“Agreed.” Archie replied, grabbing his wallet and unplugging his phone from his charger. “Last chance to join me?”

Jughead considered it for a couple more seconds. “No, I think I’m good.” He couldn't think of anything worse than the crush of heat, people and alcohol that a frat party would entail.

“Well, if you're sure.” Jughead returned to his laptop, sneaking glances at Archie as he got ready to go out.

\--

Jughead was knee-deep in the weird side of YouTube when he got a call from Betty. His clock read 2:36 am, so he was surprised to see her name appear on the glowing screen of his phone. 

“Hey, Betty, what’s up?” 

“Jughead,” Betty sounded worried. “I've just got a call from Chet- you remember Chet? Used to have a thing with Kevin?- he's at that frat party.”

Frat party. “The one Archie’s at?”

“Yes, exactly, and well, Archie’s drunk quite a lot, and Chet called me up to come pick Archie up, but…”

“You're in the middle of your romantic weekend that involves absolutely no contact with the outside world save the pizza delivery man?”

Betty sighed audibly down the line. “I really am sorry to ask you to do this, Jug, but both the frat house and Archie’s dorms are miles away from where we live. And, I'm worried about Archie, he doesn't drink often.”

“I'm in my pyjamas, Betty. You owe me twice, now, Cooper.” Jughead muttered, fake-angry as he hung up. He pulled a shirt on, black jeans, some worn out converse and a belt. He reached for his jacket, remembered Archie had it, and instead grabbed a giant kangaroo-style hoodie. Jughead made sure his dorm key was in his wallet before heading out of the room, letting the door click shut behind him. 

Campus was mainly deserted save for small, scraggly groups of partygoers heading between parties or returning home, and the cool air was a welcome contrast on Jughead’s cheeks to the warmth the radiators in the dorms gave off. 

[Betty Cooper] to [Jughead Jones]  
02:49 I texted Archie your number and told him you were coming for him  
02:50 He likes to drunk text though, I thought I’d warn you haha

Jughead pushed his phone-less hand deep into his pocket and walked briskly through the artificial pools of street lamp light.

[Unknown Number] to [Jughead Jones]  
02:53 Heu judah's this os studied cxcxxc

Jughead shook his head at Archie’s terrible keyboard skills, and tapped his phone to create a new contact.

[Jughead Jones] to [Archie Andrews]  
02:54 i beg your pardon?

Jughead tucked his phone back into his pocket, not expecting a reply anytime soon from Archie’s inebriated state. He wasn't sure why he’d agreed so readily to go find Archie, he told himself as he walked, despite the fact that he had a sneaking suspicion he wanted to see Archie drunk. He’d never experienced a party as big as this one would be, either, and was secretly pleased that he had an excuse to be there, even if it was only a search-and-rescue mission. 

Jughead heard the party before he saw it, the blaring music and screams of people reaching his ears as the number of cars parked on the side of the road started to increase. There were more people here, too, dresses in too-short shorts or dresses, or novelty outfits like togas and onesies. 

Jughead squinted at his phone. 

[Archie Andrews] to [Jughead Jones]  
03:01 You my friend to light n up!!!!

[Jughead Jones] to [Archie Andrews]  
03:01 where are u, buddy

The music was loud now, really loud, and the designated party house was in view, people in all stages of drunkenness spilling out of doors and windows. The house itself was huge, and the sweeping gardens were lit up as bright as day by floodlights. After passing several pairs of people making out in the bushes and more than one naked underclassman, Jughead was starting to slightly regret his life’s decisions. The lawn was truly crowded when he got there, but Jughead managed to skirt most of the crowds, ducking between a guy wearing the college’s hockey mascot and a group of students trying to do backflips. He had to wait by the front door in order to let a whole group of girls out, but managed to push his way inside. 

Indoors, the music blared suddenly louder, throwing Jughead off as he tried to figure out the layout of the house through the throngs of gyrating bodies. He checked his phone, surprised to see a whole string of messages.

[Archie Andrews] to [Jughead Jones]  
03:13 And room  
03:13 Howkenriom  
03:13 Gmaes rom

[Jughead Jones] to [Archie Andrews]  
03:15 games room?

Jughead smiled to himself as he received only a thumbs-up emoji in return. Right, he thought, and grabbed the nearest mostly-sober freshman. “Where’s the games room?” he asked, leaning close in order to be heard.

“What?” she said, “I don't know, over there? Yeah, that way,” she waved him towards the far corner. Jughead thanked her and pushed his way through the crowds, smacking away hands that grabbed for his hat and ducking between kegs of beer set on tables. The dancing was mostly limited to violently jumping up and down, and Jughead’s feet were continuously getting stamped on by partygoers. The games room was darker and quieter, less crowded, and Jughead found a circle of people, sitting on the floor, on tables and chairs, standing around chatting with beers in their hands. 

“Jug!” someone shouted, and Jughead looked down to see Archie waving his beer, sitting across the circle and smiling unreservedly. Jughead felt a little flutter between his ribs. 

“Jughead Jones, what a surprise,”

Fuck, Jughead thought, and turned to see Cheryl Blossom, hair perfectly curled, makeup impeccable, looking remarkably out of place among the crowds of sweaty, messy teenagers. “We were just about to play,” Cheryl paused for effect, “Spin the bottle.” 

“What are you, twelve?” Jughead rolled his eyes. “Come on, Archie, time to go home.”

Jughead made a move to walk around the room to grab Archie, but the idea of spin the bottle had spread and someone placed an empty bottle in the middle of the circle. “Newcomer starts,” Cheryl said, pushing Jughead lightly towards the circle. 

“No, thank you, Cheryl, I really should be leaving,” Jughead said, an edge of desperation in his voice. 

“I insist,” she said, not giving him room for disagreement.

Jughead sighed.

Someone, outside, started howling like a wolf.

He stepped into a space between two sofas and reached down for the bottle. He spun in, watching it revolve, open neck pointing from person to person in the circle. It slowed, moving past Chet, past Moose, Reggie, Kevin, and landing on-

“Well, would you look at that!” Cheryl crowed.

Landing on Archie.

Archie smiled, drunk, confused, content. Jughead felt his stomach clench at the sudden attention of almost everyone in the room. Archie looked at the bottle, frowned, then looked at Jughead. “Oh.” he said.

Oh, indeed.

“I'm not doing this,” he muttered, “Come on, Archie, we’re going home.” he said, louder, making his way around the circle to where Archie was sat. Archie stood, obediently, following Jughead back to the door. 

“It’s the rules, you have to kiss.” Cheryl tried to stop him, but he pushed past her. She grabbed his arm, and he turned, hard and fast, to face her. 

“Get off me, Cheryl. I'm not playing around. Leave me the fuck alone.” 

The room quietened. Jughead flushed. Cheryl’s mouth was open in a small ‘o’ of surprise. She lifted her hand off him, theatrically, raising both palms to placate. 

“Fine, Hot Topic. It's just a game.”

Jughead grabbed Archie’s sleeve and pulled him back into the party. “I can't believe you came!” Archie cried, smiling widely. 

“Betty called me to come get you, okay? I'm not here by choice.”

“Sure,” Archie slurred, taking an absent minded swig of his beer, and slinging an arm around Jughead. He promptly shrugged it off, instead starting to make his way through the crowds. 

“Wait,” he said suddenly, turning to face Archie. He looked him over. Someone had spilled a drink down his shirt, and it clung distractingly to his chest. “Where's my jacket?” 

Archie frowned in thought, but the music drowned out his words when he replied. Jughead pulled him closer, lips brushing his ear as he shouted, “What?” over the music.

“I said,” Archie repeated, “I think, uh, it’s upstairs.”

Upstairs was quieter, if only because most rooms were occupied by couples trying to get it on. “Which room?” Jughead asked Archie, who had somehow found another beer and also an almost full bottle of vodka. “Wait, what. Where did you get that?” Jughead asked. 

Archie shrugged. “Just kind of. Happened.”

“Which room, Andrews?”

Jughead led him down the narrow corridor, poking his head into doors as he passed them. “Oops, sorry,” he said on more than one occasion, finding the room’s occupants in somewhat compromising positions. 

He saw his jacket, finally, hung over a chair in an empty bedroom, surrounded by half empty beer cans and bottles of spirits. “Why were you even up here, anyway?” Jughead asked, trying not to think too hard about why Archie had been up here, in the dark, quiet rooms, taking off items of his clothing.

“A group of us came up, I left my, your, jacket. Good thing, too, because…” Archie trailed off and indicated the drink stain on his white t-shirt. 

“Yeah,” Jughead agreed under his breath, walking across the room to grab his coat. “So,” he started as he turned, stopping short when he found Archie standing close behind him. 

“Archie?” he asked, quietly. They were very near to each other. Jughead could smell the sweet spirits on Archie’s breath. It wasn't entirely unpleasant. Archie’s eyebrows were darker and thicker looking up close. His eyes were very dark in the half-light. The sounds of the party seemed muffled, distant. Unimportant. Jughead unconsciously parted his lips.

Archie rested a hand on Jughead’s neck, the other just above his hip, and before Jughead could properly process the contact, Archie leaned forward and kissed him.

**Author's Note:**

> im english sorry for any missed americanisms lol also i have no idea how the american college system works so its pretty vague on purpose (pretty much learned it all from other fics)  
> unbeta'd so please please let me know of any typos/etc also thanks so much if you leave kudos/a comment <3  
> feel free to start a convo with me at finchboy.tumblr.com !!!! (im up for beta'ing fic)


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